Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should not drop the ball on continuing the battle against black money and move towards digital transactions to reduce the preponderance of cash in the economy, says A K Bhattacharya.
The proposed ban on cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh may hit luxury goods, jewellery sales and real estate.
Following the demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 notes in a bid to crack down on black money, there were apprehensions among people that the government might impose some kind of restrictions on gold holding by individuals.
The government said that the massive amount of political donations were earlier made in cash by individuals or corporates using 'illicit means of funding'.
As per procedure, the headquarters of the agency have been sealed for 48 hours and are expected to resume operations on Monday, the officials said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley counter Rahul Gandhi's attack over issues related to the JNU, intolerance, inflation and foreign policy.
'It won't be easy to undo the damage that has been done to the economy by the lockdown and the solution will not come from two minute presentations,' observes Aakar Patel.
The employees said in a joint memorandum that they are feeling "demotivated due to shortage of manpower in lower cadres and huge stagnation in officers cadre right at this moment".
Money changers operating behind the RBI HQ in Mumbai said they would charge a 15% fee to convert Rs 1 crore.
'Secrecy allowed in the electoral bonds scheme legalises anonymity'
Demonetisation is not the end but the beginning of a "long, deep and constant" battle against black money and corruption and will benefit the poor and the common man, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said as the BJP parliamentary party passed a unanimous resolution endorsing his "great crusade".
Parliament has passed a bill to extend the tenure of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a maximum of five years from the present two years.
If the fight against black money seems half hearted, the same is not the case with gau raksha, says Subir Roy.
'By demonetising higher denominations of currency notes, we have taken out the vehicle for corruption.' 'But the motive is still there.'
Breaking from opposition ranks, the JD-U chief had supported the demonetisation move taken by the PM.
The tax department will analyse mismatches in income declarations and spending patterns to trace tax evasions and black money.
According to experts, declarations can be made with regard to capital gains or business income, which have escaped assessment
As the government attempts to find a truce with a united opposition, which has disrupted both the Houses of Parliament since the beginning of the Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to participate in the discussion on demonetisation in Rajya Sabha.
The two central premier investigative agencies - Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate - have asked their officials to focus more on digital evidence, e-forums and social media to crack down on offenders. These are a crucial part of prosecution amid the second wave of the pandemic. The Income Tax Department is going full throttle on data analytics to issue notices in time-bound cases. Further, sleuths have been given electronic devices including laptops with secure connections, which keep data encrypted and inaccessible.
The best way to curb gold demand is by reducing black money in circulation.
'Demonetisation may have been well-intentioned, but it was a major mistake. The government should reverse it. It could at least declare that Rs 500 notes, which many poorer people frequently use, are legal again,' Basu, who till recently was World Bank vice-president, wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times.
Congress on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court order on the black money issue has exposed the Centre's "lame excuses" by directing it to disclose to it by Wednesday the names of all those who have black money stashed abroad.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday attacked the Centre over the glitches in the new income tax portal, alleging that even after spending Rs 4,200 crore on it, the government had "failed" to make it user-friendly and created a "mess" instead.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Indian economy is on a sustained path of revival and cited rise in GST collections and direct taxes to support her assertion. She further said that the confidence in the Indian stock market is growing as retail and small investors are keenly investing money in the share market. She was addressing the media in New Delhi.
The CBI and ED are keeping a close eye on several bank accounts.
Addressing the party's mega "Bharat Bachao Rally" (Save India) at Ramlila Maidan, she also targeted the government over the economic situation and exhorted people to raise their voice to protect the country and its Constitution.
Assessment of the 427 account holders associated with HSBC list will be completed by March 21, 2015.
"This 'notebandi' is a positive step which will lead to benefits. It will happen," the JD-U president said, terming corruption and black money as a "big sin and festering wound" which must be eradicated.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation where he announced the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes with effect from midnight on November 8-9.
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, lead agency under Finance Ministry to gather and disseminate intelligence related to financial crimes, has traced illegal flow of money through Private Placement Programme, which involves offering of securities to select individuals or groups, upto 50 in numbers, official sources said.
He dismissed as 'hollow claim' and 'Modi's propaganda' that things have started looking up.
The issue of electoral bonds has snowballed into a political flashpoint after following reports that said the Reserve Bank of India and Election Commission had reservations against them but they were overrule by the Modi government.
After black umbrellas, it was black shawls that Trinamool Congress members used in Lok Sabha on Thursday to rake up the issue of black money.
In a bid to check generation of domestic black money, the government will soon issue a notification making quoting of PAN mandatory for all cash transactions beyond Rs 200,000.
"As it is said a man-made disaster, in the same way demonetisation is Modi-made disaster," the Congress vice-president said as he targeted the prime minister squarely blaming him for the hardships post-demonetisation.
'The most fundamental flaw with the electoral bond scheme is that it is designed to make anonymous donations.' 'It makes it easy for black money holders as well as corrupt corporates to donate money to the ruling party and ask for a quid pro quo without anybody getting any idea about it.'
'The government believes there is still significant scope to bring more people under the tax net and collect the right amount of taxes, in cases where taxpayers are underpaying,' says Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader personal tax, PwC.
Section 54 provides a tax-free method to convert unaccounted money into accounted money, says Harsh Roongta.
Debt-ridden firm Reliance Capital on Monday objected to the proposed 33.12 per cent stake sale of Prime Focus Ltd (PFL) by Credit Suisse to PFL's promoter group at Rs 44.15 per share. Anil Ambani's Reliance Group company Reliance Capital in a statement termed the proposed transaction as a blatant abuse of the purported rights by Credit Suisse under certain lending agreements with the RCAP Group. However, Reliance Capital did not share the details of the "blatant abuse of the purported rights".
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